No. 41-No. 50

No. 41 Greenway Medical Technologies Inc.

When it was started in 1998, Greenway Medical Technologies Inc. took on the challenge of educating physicians about the benefits of shifting away from their traditional paper-based record-keeping and management practices.

With a host of software packages specifically designed for the needs of medical offices, Greenway offers tools to streamline and enhance the way doctors run their offices, communicate with patients and maintain vital health records.

The years of instruction and marketing are starting to pay off big for Greenway as doctors across the country increasingly warm up to e-business techniques, said Tee Green, president of the Carrollton-based company.

"Every year, physicians are becoming more and more educated about the advantages of electronic records," Green said.

In the past two years, Greenway has expanded its distribution network and doubled its number of regional managers and the size of its sales team. Overall, the company added 57 positions for a total staff of 190 employees.

Green said the company has seen its revenue grow by more than 100 percent.

No. 42. Moe's Southwest Grill

Walk through the doors of any Moe's Southwest Grill restaurant and you'll be greeted with a warm, familiar, "Welcome to Moe's."

For Moe's CEO Martin Sprock, perhaps a more fitting greeting would be, "Welcome to success."

In 2000, Sprock, also the brains behind Planet Smoothie and other Raving Brands restaurant concepts, launched Moe's with a focus on serving fresh, healthy Mexican food fast. The restaurants have a style of their own, complete with an emphasis on music from the 1960s and fun food names such as "Joey Bag of Doughnuts" and "The Full Monty."

In 2003, Sprock opened his 100th Moe's in the Southeast and had 2,000 employees -- numbers that increased to 275 stores and 5,569 employees in 2005.

"Ultimately, franchisees are credited for growing our business and we seem to have an unlimited number of them," Sprock said. "With the number of interested franchisees, there is no telling when we will slow down."

The biggest challenge Sprock and his associates faced last year was keeping up with that explosive growth, he said. That's why the company added structure, focus and human resources to their corporate team in order to ensure they could continue to support the success of the franchisees.

No. 43 Anteo Group LLC

With the economy sagging and the tech bubble already burst, 2002 was far from an ideal time to launch a technology staffing and consulting business.

Yet getting its start in such a tumultuous environment has helped forge Anteo Group LLC into a successful business that is positioned to weather future storms.

"People said we were crazy, but we've been able to make it work," said Dion DeLoof, Anteo Group's president and co-founder.

In three and a half years, Anteo Group has seen rapid sales growth, landed customers from small startups to Fortune 100 companies and opened satellite offices in Dallas, Los Angeles and London. Anteo had about $2 million in sales in its first full year of business and $8.5 million in 2004. DeLoof said the company is on pace for 50 percent growth this year.

In anticipation of strong sales growth, Anteo Group decided in 2004 to hire more administrative and recruitment staff than it needed. This gave the company time to get its employees settled in and trained before the sales demand caught up. Even now Anteo Group can keep increasing sales without having to add more staff.

Although DeLoof credits his employees with fueling the company's rapid growth, he also said a strategy of building relationships with potential clients and consultants has allowed Anteo to prosper even in lean times. For instance, the company relies far more heavily on referrals and existing relationships than job boards when it comes to finding consultants and staff placements.

"We're unusual in that we have breakfasts, lunches and dinners with people who don't work with us and who are already working on projects but who may be available in six months or so. The idea is that when they are available, we've already established a relationship," DeLoof said.

No. 44 Lucas Group

Art Lucas' business is about providing quality people, so he knows how important it is to have just that.

"My people are No. 1, and the clients are No. 2," said Lucas, president and CEO. "I know that sounds crazy, but if my people love the company they love the customer. That's what I focus on all day long."

The system has worked out for the Lucas Group, which started as a military transition firm in 1970, and now provides executive search services out of 17 offices, including two in Germany.

The biggest jump for the Lucas Group has come in the past four years, and the key to that was holding on to quality employees through the slow economic times following the 2001 terrorist attacks and dot-com busts, Lucas said.

"We kept our key people in place, and we kept our infrastructure in place," he said. "Now that the economy is warming up, I feel we were lucky to keep our good people around and be able to take advantage of the good times."

The Lucas Group specializes in recruiting talent for 12 job markets, ranging from construction to biotech. It employs 339 people and has seen its revenue jump from almost $29 million to almost $59 million from 2003 to 2005.

This year's revenue goal is $69 million, and the Lucas Group is ahead of that, Lucas said.

"We've got a plan and we've got good people executing the plan," he said. "I know that sounds like a cliché, but that's what it's all about."

No. 45 JLW Homes & Communities

There's just something different about urban development versus suburban building, and that's OK with the founders of JLW Homes & Communities.

In fact, it's been quite profitable.

"Doing deals here is not equivalent to doing deals in the suburbs," said JLW CEO Komichel Johnson.

"We understand the community, we understand the politics, and most importantly, we understand the product the consumer wants. We're constantly, constantly asking for their input. We don't think we know everything."

They're learning fast, though.

JLW has built more than 300 homes in Atlanta's urban areas since its inception in 2000, and it wants to add 200 to that number this year alone. JLW's goal, as is suggested by its name, is to build more than homes. The company buys raw land and puts in the infrastructure itself. It also is helping to build a state-of-the-art YMCA off Pryor Road.

"There's almost an art to it," said Robb Jones, president of marketing and business development. "That's why it's taken a long time for some of the big builders to figure it out."

JLW has figured it out to the tune of almost 300 percent revenue growth in the past two years. In 2005, the company employed 22 people and tallied $20 million in revenue. If Johnson has his way, that's just the start.

"We want to build our brand in the southeast United States," he said.

"Our goal is to be the largest single-family/multifamily home builder in the urban market in the country.

We want to connect the dots all across the Southeast and then take it national."

No. 46 Benchmark Brands Inc.

Aging baby boomers' aches and pains are turning into big profits for Benchmark Brands Inc. The 15-year-old catalog and Internet retailer sells shoes and other products specially designed to promote lower-body health.

Benchmark Brands has 1.8 million customers and is on track to earn $90 million in 2006. To handle the additional sales generated by increased catalog circulation and Internet marketing, the Norcross-based company has grown from 175 employees in 2003 to 206 employees last year.

Alan Beychok, president of Benchmark Brands, said his company has benefited from the convergence of two market "tsunamis": The aging of baby boomers into their 50s and 60s and the popularity of shopping via the Internet. As long as people keep growing older -- and suffering the discomforts that can go along with aging -- Benchmark Brands expects to continue to see strong demand.

"Our markets are going to continue to grow for the next 30 years. We're very well-positioned for the future," Beychok said.

In addition to the growing number of Americans over the age of 40 and the online retailing boom, Benchmark Brand's growth is being fueled by the introduction of a new product line. The WalkSmart line features comfortable and attractive shoes targeted at women between the ages of 40 and 64.

No. 47 Procuri Inc.

Since 1999, Procuri has been delivering Web-based services to help businesses reduce costs and improve supply performance.

As a result of its drive for success, Procuri has experienced 70 percent year-over-year revenue growth the past three years, with 2005 revenue approaching $20 million. According to Mark Morel, president and CEO, Procuri will close out 2006 with revenue of $30 million, thanks to the company's unique management solutions offerings.

"More than 300 global enterprises use our OnDemand sourcing, contract management and supplier management solutions to negotiate billions of dollars of their spending, and realize hundreds of millions of dollars of real cost savings," Morel said.

Procuri's success is the result of the company being able to respond to a major business trend.

"Globalization, outsourcing, compliance and an uncertain global economy have conspired to increase the strategic importance of strategic sourcing and supply management," Morel said. "Companies are fast realizing that the secret to competitive advantage is better management of the innovation, cost and performance of the supply base."

But the company's greatest achievements, Morel said, are the successes of its customers.

No. 48 General Freight Services Inc.

There's no question in Dan Smith's mind that the U.S. economy is strong. He sees it every day as his company, General Freight Services Inc., helps businesses move materials and imports across the country.

Established in Atlanta in 1999, General Freight coordinates truck and rail transportation for companies needing to move everything from auto parts to food commodities and lumber to electronics. Not even the country's rising fuel prices have slowed the economy's robust transportation demands.

"The volatility (of fuel prices) has created headaches for our clients, but there's not much anyone can do about it," Smith said.

To keep up with demand, General Freight Services has expanded its coverage area in recent years.

The company has seen its gross revenue climb from about $24 million in 2003 to roughly $45 million last year.

Increased imports from overseas have helped drive General Freight's growth, and the company's ability to provide multimodal transportation options has helped it keep up with demand during periods when there's been a shortage of trucking capacity.

"A lot of customers now are importing their products through a lot of different ports (along the East, West and Gulf coasts) ... and it's putting quite a challenge to us to put all the equipment and services where they need it and when they need it," said Smith, General Freight's president and CEO.

No. 49 SecureWorks Inc.

When computer viruses and e-mail intrusions began to permeate company networks in 1999, Mike Cote saw an opportunity to help businesses while creating one of his own.

The company's 2005 revenue was $14.5 million -- 50 percent growth over 2004. It was ranked 79th on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies list and 39th on the 2005 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in North America.

The reason for SecureWorks' success, Cote said, is the company's employees.

"Our reputation and client retention rate of approximately 94 percent have played a key role in our growth," said Cote, president and CEO of SecureWorks. "[Our] client retention rate is high due to the fact that our employees really care and provide an excellent level of client service."

In 2006, Cote's goals for SecureWorks are to continue to keep the client retention rate above 92 percent; increase revenue by 50 percent; manage company expenses; and live out the company's core values of "open, honest communication, integrity, reliability, courage, curiosity and accountability."

No. 50 AirDefense Inc.

Wireless technology has become as pervasive in today's business world as briefcases. Industries as varied as medicine and retail have embraced the advantages of the unprecedented freedom and connectivity wireless allows.

There's just one downside to this new breed of technology: security. Traditional security measures aren't effective for wireless devices because they don't send information through a cable. To keep wireless technology safe, you have to work in the air.

This is where AirDefense's tools and expertise come into play.

"We essentially are an enabler for this technology because we allow it to be used securely," said Anil Khatod, AirDefense's president and CEO.

When it was created in 2001, AirDefense was at the forefront of the wireless local area network (LAN) security market. The company maintains 75 percent market share with more than 500 major enterprises in the health-care, manufacturing, logistical, retail and finance sectors.

AirDefense also helps secure wireless systems for the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.

Khatod said the company has had triple-digit revenue growth for the past three years and is "profitable and cash-flow positive."